


Sunburn

by Pinophyta



Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: Australia, M/M, Road Trip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-03
Updated: 2014-05-03
Packaged: 2018-01-21 19:47:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1561907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pinophyta/pseuds/Pinophyta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scout gets badly sunburnt during their trip to Australia.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sunburn

The poor boy was actually pouting. The furrowed brow and crossed arms completed the pissed off look that invited no conversation whatsoever. It was really funny for Sniper, but he knew that laughing would only make him angrier. He tried to focus on driving, and let it be. They had already argued briefly during breakfast, the same breakfast Scout had refused to take on account of his raging tantrum.

But what could Sniper do other than laugh? Scout had woken up red like a lobster, wincing in pain like a wounded animal. His whole upper torso was completely burned by the sun, with his face miraculously spared. He had contorted trying to examine the damage on his back, which Sniper judged as possibly the second most severe, right after the terrible mess that was his neck. But shortly afterward Scout had refused any help or advice Sniper could have. To be fair to the boy, by that point Sniper was laughing far more than what was polite.

The damage was done already. Scout stormed off, putting on his t-shirt with a wince, and sat on the passenger seat without saying a word. He waited there for Sniper to finish breakfast and packing, and Sniper got the message. Just driving, it was.

A couple hours later, Scout's voice cut the silence like a particularly sharp knife.

“Don't tell me any of that “I told you so” bullshit, okay?”, Scout mumbled.

Sniper tried to curve only the left side of his mouth, as he remembered the exchange from yesterday. They had abandoned most of civilization not a day before, and it was their true first day in the outback. And Scout had decided walking around shirtless was a good idea. Sniper had commented on it, just the one time, and after Scout's refusal the only thing he did was mutter an amused “suit yourself”.

“I ain't your mum.” he said.

“Damn right” Scout muttered under his breath.

After a few long minutes staring at the endless landscape, Scout started thinking that maybe Sniper was not going to lecture him after all. That's what he had expected after the laughter, some patronizing words about Scout being wrong and Sniper being right. Words with no other purpose than to make Scout madder. Words he was familiar with, and that he hated with a passion.

“What I don't understand” Sniper broke the silence “is that we've been working on American deserts for more than a year now. How did you not get a sunburn there?”

“I don't know, man. The sun's all weird in this country. How the hell was I supposed to know?”

Sniper knew, but he didn't add anything. The sun in America was just as relentless, but truth was that they spent a lot of their time indoors, or in well shaded areas. Not to mention that the respawn system probably “reset” the skin, too. It was definitely different from loafing around without a shirt, away from the shade, and not too far from the hottest hours of the Australian afternoon.

Scout sounded less upset with him, though, which Sniper considered a notable improvement. All he had to do now was keep the olive branch up and resist the temptation of teasing the boy further. As amusing as it was, he knew the different ways in which the kid could be made upset, and he didn't want to risk getting him into one of the bad ones.

Besides, he would feel terrible if Scout's sunburn ended up being serious and getting infected. He eyed the boy from the corner of his eye. He had put on his shirt while upset, so the thing must be feeling really uncomfortable, even being all cotton. The skin on his arms wasn't so bad, but his neck was a complete mess, and he figured the back and chest looked about the same.

“We're gonna have to get that cleaned up” Sniper said. “You want me to pull over and...?”

“I'm fine.” Scout said, his tone less confrontational than he probably intended it to be. “Keep driving, we'll do that later.”

They did have a tight schedule, so Sniper didn't argue.

He kept driving through the long road, hoping Scout would enjoy the open landscapes as much as he did. He would die before admitting it, but having Scout with him there, in Australia, was still something he couldn't grasp his head around. It was almost as if he couldn't believe his luck, even if Scout had insisted on coming and had never even doubted his resolve. Sniper had tried to dissuade him, explaining the inconveniences of the kind of trips Sniper made, the dangers of the wildlife, the harshness of the climate. They had argued, in fact, but nothing seemed to deter Scout's wish to be there. And when Sniper realized how eager he was to take Scout with him, he tried to dissuade himself too. For weeks he did nothing but tell himself that Scout would be a burden, that he would have to protect him from the many dangers of Australia, and that he would have to endure his company full-time: both the good one and the annoying one.

But he couldn't ignore the thrill of imagining Scout by his side, teaching him how to survive in the outback, with the boy's genuine interest in learning. He couldn't stop thinking about how pleasant it would be to have a body to embrace at night.

And so, after several useless arguments, they were there. And things were going well, too, before the Scout's unexpected roast.

Sniper was concerned now, fearing that Scout would hate the rest of the trip after this. It had been one day, a single day away from the cities. They weren't even that far out back yet. They had still plenty of days ahead of them, and Sniper knew that the harshness of that lifestyle took a toll on anyone after a while. He knew how hard it would be for the urban kid, and now he hoped Scout could keep his hopes up for the rest of the trip.

Midday came, with the relentless sun burning from above. They pulled over by an old rest stop, just a couple of old wooden picnic tables sheltered by the shade of huge eucalyptus trees.

Scout jumped off the van, eager to stretch his legs at last. The air outside wasn't any cooler, but at least the smell was different. He looked up at the trees, hoping to see them move and announce breeze, but they were dead still. The landscape wasn't too arid, definitely livelier than the one back in America, but it was endlessly flat.

He walked around for a while when he noticed the lack of Sniper's usual noises around that point: he would always check up on the van after stopping. Right now, however, the van sat undisturbed. Well, except for Sniper rummaging for something inside of it.

He came out with a towel and a tin can in hand, and pointed at the old wooden tables.

“Take your shirt off and sit down there.”

Scout rolled his eyes “What you gonna do, kiss it better?”

He complied reluctantly, taking off his shirt with extreme care and sitting down with his back to Sniper. The man left the towel on the table, and opened up the tin box. He rummaged through it until he found a smaller tin.

Scout winced at Sniper's touch.

“Son of a...”

“Sorry, mate.”

He had barely brushed Scout's shoulder while assessing the damage. It would take a while to heal, but it wasn't as bad as Sniper feared. He took off his gloves, his watch, and opened up the old rusty, unlabeled tin can.

“What's that?” Scout asked.

“You'll see. Now turn around.”

Still somewhat grumpy, Scout complied. He heard Sniper settle behind him, unscrewing the lid of the small tin can, and then a painfully cool sensation assaulted his shoulders.

He hissed. “What the hell, man?”

Sniper smiled. He rubbed the ointment on Scout's shoulders in gentle but firm motions, letting a thick layer settle on his skin. Scout stopped wincing a few moments after the initial touch, visibly relieved by the coolness of the cream. Sniper watched his expression closely, hoping the boy would feel better enough to talk to him. It was odd how unnerving not having his chatter was.

He took some more of the ointment and started rubbing it on Scout's sore neck. The skin looked really bad, but hopefully he wouldn't have to worry about blisters. He minded his touch there, knowing that applying too much pressure would be unpleasant, even with the thick ointment on his fingers.

The relief was now visible on Scout's face. He even managed a small smile.

“What's that stuff, anyway?”

Sniper applied his hands now down Scout's back, treating the fading burned skin below his shoulders.

“It's a home made remedy for burns, bruises, rashes, and any nasty things that may happen to your skin. My mum made it.”

He held the tin up to Scout so he could see it up close. The boy raised a hand and lightly dipped two fingers on it. The substance was a bit gelatinous, but soft. It had a greenish tint, and smelled strongly of eucalyptus. It felt amazingly cool.

“Smells real nice.”

Sniper's hand circled around his neck, and started rubbing ointment on his sore chest. This was starting to feel a bit like a massage. Or so figured Scout. He had never had an actual massage, but this was probably close to it. With the cool sensation, he could almost forget how much his skin hurt, and this helped him focus on how good Sniper's hands felt.

He pondered about it as Sniper's hands slid over his chest, casually rubbing over his nipples several times. This wasn't the playful touching he did when they were about to fuck. It felt kinda short, actually, but still nice. He wondered how it would be like to be touched like that, to get a massage, before fucking. He would have to ask Sniper later why he had never given Scout a massage before.

But another question came to his mind, as he idly rubbed the ointment on his fingertips.

“Ya think this would make a good lube?” he chuckled to himself.

He couldn't see Sniper's reaction, but he heard the amusement on his answer.

“...let's not go there, okay?”

Scout smiled in return. He was kinda right. With his skin like that, he didn't really look forward to being touched like usual. Perhaps if they were both extra careful... But even the thought of just laying down on the bed made him wince. Or rubbing against anything, really. He wondered how many days it would take for his skin to heal, because he knew he could only get creative for so long.

“Why not, though? It smells nice and feels amazing!”

Sniper caressed Scout's pec a bit rougher than necessary.

“Cause the smell reminds me of my mum.” he said. “And that's the last thing I want when I'm jacking off another guy, got it?”

Scout laughed loudly.

“So that thing gonna be like a sex repellant to you while I'm covered in the stuff?”

“Oh yeah. And when you start peeling off in a few days you're gonna be disgusting, so don't count me in right away when the smell is gone.”

Scout raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

“That will work out fine, then, 'cause it'll take me a while to forget what a dick you were.”

Sniper smiled to himself. Later that night Scout tried snuggling with him anyway. It was a bit uncomfortable, even though Sniper tried his best not to move too much or hold Scout too tight. There were both on the brink of sleep when Sniper shifted his arm, causing Scout to wince loudly. Alarmed, Sniper was about to apologize when he felt Scout's body relax. The kid snuggled into his arm, and returning to a blissful half asleep state, he murmured:

“Worth it.”


End file.
